The co-founder and former CEO of fintech scaleup Plooto is facing trial in Toronto for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in November 2023.

Toronto Police Services arrested Hamed Abbasi on Nov. 26, 2023 on one count of sexual assault that allegedly took place days earlier. On March 4, 2024, Plooto announced that Abbasi had left the company after nearly nine years at the helm, though did not provide a reason at the time.

The criminal charge is currently being tried before the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto. The victim’s identity is protected under a publication ban. 

One of Abbasi’s lawyers, Stockwoods LLP partner Gerald Chan, told The Logic his client is innocent of the allegations. “We trust the court process and look forward to the truth emerging during the course of the trial,” he said by email.

Abbasi co-founded Plooto in 2015 with Serguei Kloubkov. The company, which automates business accounting for small and mid-sized enterprises, has grown steadily since, boosted by nearly US$30 million in venture capital from high-profile investors including Deloitte Ventures, Inovia Capital, Golden Ventures and the C100, according to PitchBook data. The firm has about 130 employees, PitchBook shows, and more than 10,000 customers, according to its website.

In Oct. 2024 the company appointed John McLane to replace Abbasi as CEO. A spokesperson for the company told BetaKit at the time that Abbasi left for “personal reasons” and that Plooto was not in a position to elaborate.

Abbasi told the publication in March that he was ready to take a break from the company. “It just got to a point for me where I was like, do I have the energy where I want to put in another five [or] six years of my life into this?” he said. He no longer holds a seat on Plooto’s board, but said at the time that he still attends board meetings and gets regular updates on the business. 

Plooto did not immediately respond to The Logic’s questions. Chan said Abbasi “has relinquished complete control over Plooto’s operations and is not currently involved in any way.”